THE heartbroken families of the Southport victims have spoken of the moment they discovered their children were dead.
Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, were stabbed to death by evil Axel Rudakubana, 18, on July 29.
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Bebe King was the youngest of the three victimsCredit: FAMILY HANDOUT/UNPIXS
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Elsie Dot Stancombe was also tragically killedCredit: FAMILY HANDOUT/UNPIXS
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Elsie’s parents, David and Jenni, following a celebration of Elsie at St John’s ChurchCredit: Getty
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The family along with younger sister Rosie, aged threeCredit: PA
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Alice da Silva AguiarCredit: FAMILY HANDOUT/UNPIXS
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Bebe’s dad cast his mind back to the horror.
He heartbreakingly said after hearing news of the attack, he thought Bebe might have still been at home safe.
The desperate parent searched the streets for his daughter – until police officers gave a description matching Bebe.
The 43-year-old, who works for HM Revenue & Customs, said: “We had given people Bebe’s description. When that person came towards me, I could feel the blood drain from me and I went cold.
“I knew she was going to tell me something. And she did. ‘Are you Bebe’s dad?’ As soon as I said yes she said she had passed away.”
Bebe’s mum recalled how she was in Marks & Spencer when her husband called to tell her.
She ran outside and got into a taxi, which dropped her to the scene.
When she heard the devastating news, she fell to her knees screaming.
The mum relied on other witnesses to tell her what happened as she says her memory is blank after this moment.
Also speaking to the Sunday Times, Elsie’s mum, Jenni Stancombe, recalled the unthinkable events.
She and her husband David dropped Elsie, a passionate Swiftie, off at the class at 10am.
The parent of another girl in the class had offered to have Elsie round to play afterwards, and agreed to drop her back round at 3pm.
Shortly before midday, Jenni got a call from the other mum who said: “Something awful has happened. Somebody’s stabbed the kids.”
Jenni bolted in her car to the studio, beeping her horn and running red lights to get through traffic.
Moment Southport killer storms dance class to murder 3 girls as he’s jailed for at least 52 years
She abandoned the car in the middle of the road once she saw the chaotic scene but police stopped them from entering.
The parents were later told Elsie had died inside the studio during the attack.
Dad David said: “No human being should ever have to witness what we witnessed on that day.”
Both sets of devastated parents shared their fondest memories of the little “angels” – and how they wish them to be remembered.
Bebe’s mum and dad spoke of her vibrant personality during her short life.
Her mother, 41, said she had an “innate kindness” and “spark” – and had a “power to connect with people” even at her early stage in life.
She said her daughter never failed to make her “belly laugh” with hilarious impressions and accents.
The grief-stricken parents remembered their precious one as “full of life” and very head strong.
“She would go over to the shy ones and she would literally pull them in,” added her proud father.
Laughing through tears, Bebe’s mother recalled the duo singing songs, from Frozen to Beyoncé, in the car with each other.
But she broke down as she shared a heartbreaking memory.
“We took her to see Wicked the musical. She was so excited to watch the film…we only just missed it.”
‘ONE OF A KIND’
Paying tribute to Elsie, mum Jenni said: “Everyone says it, don’t they, that they’re one of a kind. But she truly was.
“It was an honour to be her mum. Sometimes I think people are born special, and I genuinely believe she was.”
Her husband also recalled Elsie’s warmth and enthusiasm, saying she was always bursting with energy at the weekends.
Even as a little girl, Elsie would always cheer her parents up if they seemed down, he added.
She always wanted to be by her parents’ side – even if they were just going out to the supermarket.
The seven-year-old also had a passion for arts and crafts, her parents added – and had received a sewing machine for Christmas the previous year – but tried her hand at everything, from gymnastics to swimming, an outlet from her struggles with reading and writing.
Elsie had tutor lessons every Saturday with Leanne Lucas, the teacher who bravely protected children as the horror unfolded on July 29.
Heartbroken mum Jenni told how she was trying to give her daughter “a better start in life” but how it ultimately led Elsie to the Taylor Swift dance class, advertised by Leanne.
But speaking fondly of memories with her child, proud Jenni recalled Elsie winning a runner-up prize in a story writing competition after 18-months of private tutoring.
Elsie was “over the moon” with her achievement and stopped her lessons with Leanne shortly before the tragedy.
“Even the day I dropped Elsie off on that day, Leanne was saying, ‘I missed you, Elsie’, and she picked her up and hugged her,” added Jenni.
Jenni fought back tears as she recalled the heartbreaking moment she “waved her off” and said goodbye to her daughter as she ran into the class.
Elsie and Bebe’s parents said they have found support in each other after losing their daughters.
FINAL GOODBYE
Bebe’s parents were able to say their goodbyes to their little girl at the Alder Hey hospital bereavement suite before her funeral.
They said it was as though their angel was “asleep”, wearing her pajamas.
The couple said they had Bebe christened, surrounded by family, which gave everyone an opportunity to say goodbye in their own way.
On their final day, Bebe’s mum and dad read her Jack and the Beanstalk, her favourite bedtime story.
Her mother said: “I kissed her, and that’s how we will remember her”.
Elsie’s funeral took place shortly afterwards, which attracted “thousands” of mourners and supporters.
“It was an amazing day, The police did an amazing job. Shut the roads. The whole community came out,” recalled Chris, Elsie’s uncle.
David told how they made the funeral public as a representation of how outgoing his daughter was, a quality he credited to Jenni.
“I used to say to Elsie, ‘Just be like your mum’,” He said through tears.
Both families also praised the Prince and Princess of Wales, who offered their support in person.
Bebe’s parents added how the community had pulled together in the wake of the horror attack.
They said: “It’s about this community. It has brought light in the darkness, these little moments. And that’s what we’re constantly looking for right now.”
SENTENCING
Bebe and Elsie’s killer – who also attempted to murder eight other children at random – was jailed for life with a minimum of 52 years last month.
The parents spoke of their shock when the monster changed his plea to guilty, meaning the trial they’d geared themselves up for had been cancelled.
David said they were “completely gobsmacked” while Bebe’s dad said his “mouth was on the floor”.
But both families admitted they did not want the judge’s sentencing speech to be a live broadcast.
They felt remarks about the injuries their little girls suffered were too detailed, and it is not how they want Bebe and Elsie remembered.
Bebe’s dad also told how they not attend court because they didn’t “want to give him the satisfaction of seeing us”.
Neither Bebe or Elsie’s parents referred to their daughters’ killer by name throughout sharing their harrowing stories.
SOUTHPORT TRAGEDY
The two-hour event where the girls lost their lives had been organised by instructors Leanne Lucas and Heidi Liddle at The Hart Space.
Just three miles away, Rudakubana had armed himself with a 20cm knife as he prepared to put his murderous plan into action.
Chilling footage showed the killer pacing outside his home before being picked up in a taxi.
Just 30 minutes later, Rudakubana arrived at the community centre as the children sang Taylor Swift songs and made friendship bracelets.
Timeline of events related to the Southport stabbings
AXEL Rudakubana has pleaded guilty to the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, and 10 counts of attempted murder.
Here is a timeline of events relating to the case:
2002: Rudakubana’s father Alphonse moves to the UK from Rwanda, according to an interview he gave to his local newspaper in Southport in 2015.
August 7, 2006: Rudakubana is born in Cardiff, Wales.
2013: The family – including Rudakubana’s father, mother and older brother – move from Wales to Banks in Lancashire, a few miles from Southport.
July 29, 2024: Shortly before midday, a knifeman enters a dance class at The Hart Space in Hart Street in Southport.
Bebe, Elsie and Alice are fatally wounded. Eight other children are injured, as are instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
Police say they have detained a male and seized a knife.
Within hours, claims spread online that the suspect is an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat in 2023.
Some claims include an alleged identity.
July 30, 2024: In the evening, a peaceful vigil is held outside Southport’s Atkinson arts venue, where flowers are laid in memory of those who died.
Shortly after the vigil, a separate protest begins outside the town’s mosque in St Luke’s Road.
People throw items towards the mosque, property is damaged and police vehicles are set on fire.
July 31, 2024: Demonstrators gather in Whitehall, London, for an “Enough Is Enough” protest.
Flares and cans are thrown at police and more than 100 people are arrested.
Disorder also breaks out in Hartlepool, County Durham, and Aldershot, Hampshire.
August 1, 2024: Police announce that Rudakubana has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article.
He is not named by police because of his age.
He appears in court in Liverpool and Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Andrew Menary KC rules he can be named, as he is due to turn 18 in a week.
He initially smiled on entering the courtroom – then kept his face covered by his sweatshirt for the remainder of the proceedings before the case was adjourned.
Later that evening, demonstrators gather outside a hotel in Newton Heath, Manchester.
August 2, 2024: Three police officers are taken to hospital after disorder in Sunderland.
August 3, 2024: There are scenes of violence during planned protests across the UK, including in Liverpool, Hull, Nottingham and Belfast.
August 4, 2024: Disorder continues, including outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where masked demonstrators launch lengths of wood and sprayed fire extinguishers at police officers.
August 5, 2024: The Government holds an emergency Cobra meeting in the wake of the disorder and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vows to “ramp up criminal justice”.
That evening, a peaceful vigil is held in Southport, a week on from the killings. Police deal with disorder in Plymouth, Devon and Darlington, County Durham.
August 7, 2024: Prison sentences for those involved in the unrest begin to be handed out. Derek Drummond, 58, is the first person to be jailed for violent disorder at Liverpool Crown Court, where he is sentenced to three years.
More than 100 protests are planned for across the country, with counter-demonstrations taking place, but the majority of police forces report very little trouble.
October 29, 2024: Merseyside Police announces Rudakubana will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink the next day charged with production of a biological toxin, Ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
October 30, 2024: Rudakubana appears at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink from HMP Belmarsh to face the two new charges.
He holds his sweater over the bottom half of his face and does not respond when asked to confirm his name.
November 13, 2024: Rudakubana appears at Liverpool Crown Court via videolink. He covers his face with his grey sweatshirt and does not speak throughout the hearing.
About 20 family members of victims sit in the public gallery. The case is adjourned until December 12, when a preparatory hearing will take place.
January 20, 2025: Rudakubana appears at Liverpool Crown Court for the first day of his trial where he pleads guilty to all 16 charges, including the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.
Leanne opened a window due to the summer heat and saw the masked teen outside but thought nothing of it.
But seconds later, the door opened and Rudakubana stormed into the class and began attacking children and adults at random.
Screams rang out as the killer teen systematically made his way through the room stabbing his victims with the black-handled Cerbera kitchen knife.
As the desperate children tried to flee, Rudakubana chased after them and slashed them from behind.
Hero dance teacher Leanne was stabbed in the arms, neck and back as she used her body to shield young girls from the knifeman.
She screamed at the children to “run away”
Her colleague Heidi Liddle escaped uninjured after bravely locking some of the children inside a toilet.
Businessman Jonathan Hayes, who was working in the office next door, was attacked after he ran inside and bravely tried to stop the carnage.
At 11.57am – 12 minutes after the rampage began – police stormed the scene.
Officers found Rudakubana holding the large, bloodied kitchen knife and he was arrested.
After killing the girls, the monster told police “It’s a good thing those children are dead… I’m so glad… so happy”.
As he was held in a custody suite following the rampage, the teen continued: “I don’t care, I’m feeling neutral.
“Literally, such a good thing those kids are dead, 6 years old… So happy, 6 years old. It’s a good thing they are dead, yeah.”
‘HISTORY OF VIOLENCE’
It was this week revealed police failed to realise Rudakubana posed a terror threat despite being obsessed with the Manchester Arena bombing.
He also took a knife to school on one occasion, but counter-extremism police three times closed investigations.
A damning report laid bare the failings that saw the vile killer able to roam the streets and walk into the Taylor Swift event.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said this week that Rudakubana was reported to Prevent three times but not referred for further monitoring.
Mr Jarvis said: “The review concluded that too much focus was placed on the absence of a distinct ideology, to the detriment of considering the perpetrator’s susceptibility, grievances and complex needs.
“There was an under-exploration of the significance of his repeat referrals, and the cumulative risk, including his history of violence.”
He added: “The overall conclusion of the review is that he should have been case managed through the channel multi-agency process, rather than closed to Prevent.
“This would have enabled to co-ordinated multi-agency risk management and support.”
Bebe and Elsie’s parents told The Sunday Times they want to see more done to shield children from internet dangers.
“The bottom line is the perpetrator was a child,” Chris said.
He added how ” some people are just born that way” but easy access to “hateful information… was a factor”.
The Government has accepted all 14 recommendations for improvements in the learning review that focused on Rudakubana.
The families of his victims, meanwhile, have previously spoken of how they are “stuck in a horror movie”.
Elsie’s parents have since founded a charity called Elsie’s Story, which aims to help children in need.
Dad David is also set to run the London Marathon to raise money for the cause.
Bebe’s family said they will not live their “lives in anger”, instead they continue to honour and respect their daughter’s memory.
“We have to live for Bebe. And find light in the dark. That’s where we are,” said her parents.
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Flowers and tributes outside the Atkinson Art Centre Southport for the three girlsCredit: PA
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Axel Rudakubana was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 52 yearsCredit: POLICE HANDOUT/UNPIXS
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Rudakubana seen in a taxi moments before the horror attackCredit: Enterprise
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education